Revue de presse du 16 novembre AM

Publié le 16 novembre 201512:06

Droit de parole

Colleges and universities need external forces to discourage anti-free speech activism – Canada needs external authorities to assess the issues that inspire on-campus activism and inhibit free speech, writes Robyn Urback of the National Post. “When your friends, your professors, your student newspapers are all telling you you’re right, it’s hard not to see why trying to get someone fired for what they said is a good thing,” she explains, highlighting how postsecondary institutions can act as groupthink incubators. She adds that “the reasons why these students are so vehemently upset does matter, but they do not excuse silencing dissenting views on campus—full stop.” The article concludes that external forces may occasionally need to intervene in on-campus issues to ‘pop’ the self-confirming bubbles that form in postsecondary communities. National Post

Students across US march over debt, free public college – Students from more than 110 colleges across the US held demonstrations on Thursday to protest rising student loan debt and to demand tuition-free public colleges. The protests also demanded at $15 minimum wage for campus workers. Dubbed by the press as the Million Student March, the demonstrations featured a number of protesters who called not only for tuition-free college, but debt-free college. According to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the total volume of outstanding US student loan debt has more than doubled to $1.2 T compared to less than $600 B in 2006. A group of demonstrators at Northeastern University were reported carrying signs that read “Degrees are not receipts” and “Is this a school or a corporation?” Globe and Mail | Washington Post | The Guardian